Advertisement
Published: July 24th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Our first full day in San Francisco was tremendous! This is a city like no other and is one of my absolute favorites. Between the bustling streets, fantastic food and drink and lot's to do and see, our time here is speeding by. I can see why so many song writers have had this city in mind - Chris Isaak, Otis Redding and let's never forget that the one, the only Tony Bennett left his heart here. I can totally see why.
We awoke early and enjoyed fresh tomato juice and coffee in our room. Decided quickly to shower up and head to the California Academy of Sciences. One egregious oversight on my part - Jim HATES riding on public buses. Hates - couldn't be more clear. I kept thinking that we would avoid a hefty parking fee at Golden Gate Park - would enjoy a discount on the pricey tickets to the Academy - would reduce our carbon footprint - would meeting and mingle with fellow travelers and locals beating an uphill climb. Wrong. We were squished, jostled and stood, dangling from a strap. To be honest, I kept thinking about how private and comfortable our very own truck
would be - our own music, no foreign smells - but tried to keep my peeps to myself. Jim was gripping. I was so eager to end the odyssey that I leapt off the bus six, long blocks early on our way back.
California Academy of the Sciences The Academy was worth every minute and every penny! There is so much to consider in Golden Gate Park, but this was by far the best. Part museum, part aquarium and part planetarium, it was by far one of the best investments of time and $$. We saw a 20 minute program in the planetarium, walked through a rainforest with live butterflies, enjoyed both salt and fresh water aquarium exhibits and saw 'snakes and lizards', the summer exhibit that included a huge python, a water monitor and lots of different geckos, chameleons and frogs. There was a troop of live penguins and a mangrove pool full of sharks, rays and other assorted fish. One of the best parts - a live roof. Covered with ground cover, wild flowers and solar panels, the roof was designed by Renzo Piano when the Academy was rebuilt and reopened in 2008. There was also an albino alligator named Claude floating in a swamp like enclosure.
Wow, Didn't See that Coming Once we left the fine travel accommodations of public transportation, we jumped in a cab and went to 21st Amendment Brewery. One slight oversight, the brewery is within walking distance of AT&T park and the Giants were in town with a 6pm game. The bar was packed with Giants fans. We scored a couple of seats at the bar and enjoyed Hell or High Watermelon wheat beer. Garnished with fresh watermelon, the beer was sweet with just enough of a watermelon flavor to distinguish itself as a unique local delight.
Tomorrow is our last full day in San Francisco and we plan to make the most of it!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.108s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0581s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb